PITTSBORO, N.C., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Biolex Therapeutics announced today that its lead candidate Locteron was featured at the “Breakthroughs in Hepatitis” session at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference yesterday in New York. Mr. Jan Turek, President and CEO of Biolex, presented preclinical and clinical results at the session highlighting the best-in-class tolerability and convenience benefits of Locteron. Locteron is a next-generation controlled- release form of alfa interferon for the treatment of hepatitis C being co- developed with OctoPlus. Mr. Turek also announced that the full results from a recently completed Phase 1 clinical study of Locteron will be presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) meeting April 26-30, 2006 in Vienna, Austria.
More than four million people in the United States, and more than 200 million people worldwide, are currently infected with hepatitis C. Recent forecasts suggest that total sales of therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C will exceed $10 billion in the year 2014, and that sales of interferon products will represent more than $5 billion of this total. The currently available pegylated alfa interferon products require administration once per week for up to 48 weeks and are associated with substantial side effects, particularly during the period following each administration.
Locteron combines BLX-883, a recombinant alfa interferon produced by Biolex in its patented LEX System(TM), with PolyActive(TM), an advanced controlled-release drug delivery technology developed by OctoPlus. In contrast to the currently available interferon products, preclinical studies demonstrated that Locteron has linear release characteristics after injection without the high peak plasma levels that have the potential to increase side effects and without the low trough plasma levels that may impair efficacy. Locteron is intended to be administered only once every two weeks as compared to the once-a-week administration of the currently licensed pegylated interferon products.
Locteron is an investigational therapeutic candidate and has not been approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration or by any international regulatory agency.
About Biolex Therapeutics
Biolex Therapeutics applies its unique drug development capabilities and expertise to commercialize complex proteins and monoclonal antibodies that until now have been impossible or very expensive to develop through traditional means. Biolex’ patented LEX System(TM) uses Lemna as a transgenic host in its GMP biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility to produce therapeutic proteins to support its own development programs as well as the programs of its strategic partners. The company is advancing a proprietary pipeline of product candidates, including its lead program Locteron(TM) under joint development with OctoPlus. Biolex has a multi-protein strategic alliance with Centocor and collaborations with other pharmaceutical/biotech companies including Medarex and MedImmune. Biolex is a venture-capital backed company located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, United States. For additional information, please visit Biolex’ web site at www.biolex.com.
Contact:
Michelle Linn, Linnden Communications, 774-696-3803, linnmich@comcast.net.
Biolex Therapeutics
CONTACT: Michelle Linn of Linnden Communications, +1-774-696-3803, orlinnmich@comcast.net
Web site: http://www.biolex.com//
